Justice Njideka Nwosu-Iheme of a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory has awarded N5.5 million damages in favour of Ifeanyi Ejiofor, counsel to the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu.
The court also granted a perpetual injunction restraining the defendant and Executive Director of Due Process Advocate, Emeka Ugwuonye, his agents, associates, privies, and/or proxies howsoever called, from carrying out any libelous publication against Ejiofor.
Ejiofor had in the suit marked: CV/535/2022, dragged Ugwuonye, an activist and lawyer to a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, demanding N5.1bn for allegedly defamatory publication.
One of the defamatory materials was said to have been published and circulated to third parties on the Internet on February 5, 2022, and continued till February 8, 2022.
Ugwuonye had alleged that “Ejiofor was facing serious investigation for fraud and forgery by the EFCC.”
Among the reliefs sought by Ejiofor included the following:
“A declaration that the publications variously made by the defendant of and concerning the claimant, on the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, and 12th of February, 2022, the particulars of which are contained in the statement of claim, are defamatory of the claimant.
“An order of the Honourable Court directing the defendant to forthwith publish a full retraction of the utterly libelous publications and an unqualified apology to the claimant in at least three national Newspapers with nationwide circulation.
Credit: The Nigeria Lawyer